Serf Exported Syllabus Title: Serf Authoring Workshop Columns: 12 EventID: 4763 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 1 Type: 7 Heading: Getting Started Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4764 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 2 Type: 1 Heading: Welcome Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Welcome to the Serf authoring workshop! The purpose of this workshop is to let you learn and explore what it's like to author courses using Serf. This workshop is offered in an auto-tutorial format that enables you to go through the materials at your own pace. EventID: 4765 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 3 Type: 1 Heading: What you will learn Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: This workshop consists of a series of hands-on exercises. As you work through the exercises, you will learn how to author Serf courses, view them as a student, add students to your course roster, create assignments, use the Serf gradebook, and export final grades at the end of the course. For authors who want to learn how to create objective test questions and use Serf to administer and score examinations, this workshop includes a tutorial on the Serf testing system. This is followed by some advanced modules that show how to create surveys, diagnostic assessments, and tutorial strands of instruction. The workshop concludes by showing experienced authors how to customize the look and feel of Serf by creating custom control panels, menu bars, banners, and trailers. Using customized objects, the advanced author can create Web-based environments with any conceivable look and feel, while retaining all of the record-keeping and reporting features of the Serf database. EventID: 4766 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 4 Type: 1 Heading: What you will need Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In order to take this workshop, you're going to need both a student and an instructor logon into Serf. The student logon, which you're using now, enables you to view the workshop syllabus, which you're reading now. The instructor logon will enable you to develop your own custom course, which this workshop will teach you how to create. If you do not have a Serf instructor logon yet, you will learn how to get one automatically later on in this workshop. EventID: 4767 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 5 Type: 1 Heading: Print This Syllabus Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: You should print yourself a copy of this syllabus, so you can have it in front of you when you're logged on as an instructor working through the exercises. To print this syllabus, follow these steps: EventID: 4768 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 6 Type: 2 Heading: Serf Hierarchy Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4769 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 7 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Before you begin creating your first course, you need to understand the hierarchy of user types that exist in the Serf environment. There are five kinds of users in Serf: Sysadmin, Administrator, Instructor, Teaching Assistant, and Student. The role of each type of user is explained below. EventID: 4770 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 8 Type: 1 Heading: Serf Sysadmin Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: At the top of the hierarchy is the Serf sysadmin, which stands for system administrator. The sysadmin is in charge of running the Serf server, making periodic backups of the work done by instructors and students, and troubleshooting any problems that may arise. Every Serf server must have at least one sysadmin. EventID: 4771 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 9 Type: 1 Heading: Administrator Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: The administrator creates and maintains the lists of objects with which instructors and students work. These lists include rosters, calendars, syllabi, rooms, and styles. The administrator creates courses by linking these objects together and assigning them to an instructor. For institutions with a small staff, it is possible for the Serf sysadmin also to function as the administrator. At larger institutions, the Serf sysadmin can create several administrators to assist in the creation and monitoring of courses. EventID: 4772 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 10 Type: 1 Heading: Instructor Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: The instructor is the person to whom the administrator will have assigned the responsibility for teaching a course. Depending on the options chosen by the administrator, the instructor will normally be able to create and edit the course syllabus, add and modify dates on the course calendar, adjust the style parameters that control the on-screen appearance of the course, and add or drop students from the roster. The instructor also has access to the course gradebook, which is used to monitor student progress, grade assignments, and compute final grades. EventID: 4773 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 11 Type: 1 Heading: Teaching Assistant Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Each course can have one or more teaching assistants. The teaching assistant helps the instructor communicate with students, grade assignments, and maintain the course roster. In practice, however, smaller courses tend not to have teaching assistants. EventID: 4774 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 12 Type: 1 Heading: Student Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Last in the hierarchy but certainly not least in terms of importance is the student. The student side of Serf is where all of the options described above combine to create a unique and powerful way of exploring, discovering, and constructing knowledge over the Web. EventID: 4775 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 13 Type: 1 Heading: Your Place in the Hierarchy Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: As you can see from this list, you, the instructor, are in the middle of the hierarchy. In terms of organizing and presenting instructional events, interacting with students, and assessing performance, you are in many ways the most important part of the process. Serf has been designed to make your role enjoyable, efficient, and effective. EventID: 4776 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 14 Type: 2 Heading: Becoming an Instructor Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4777 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 15 Type: 1 Heading: Goals Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In this module, you'll learn how to log on as an instructor and peruse the Serf instructor options. You'll also reflect on the flexibility and power of the object-oriented nature of Serf. EventID: 4778 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 16 Type: 1 Heading: Getting an Instructor Logon Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: If you don't already have an instructor logon into Serf, you can ask Serf to create automatically a temporary instructor logon that you can use to complete the exercises in this workshop. To get a temporary instructor logon, follow these steps:

To conserve resources on the Serf server, please do not request a temporary instructor logon if you already have a Serf authoring account. EventID: 4779 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 17 Type: 1 Heading: Logging On As an Instructor Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: After you get your instructor logon, you should log on as an instructor. To log on as an instructor, follow these steps:

EventID: 4780 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 18 Type: 1 Heading: Serf Instructor Options Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 2 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: When an instructor logs on, Serf presents an instructor control panel that has five columns: Syllabus, Student Views, Administrative, Personal Calendar, and System. The instructor panel appears as follows:

EventID: 4781 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 19 Type: 1 Heading: Column 1: Syllabus Options Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Instructors use the options in column 1 of the control panel to create, view, and edit the course syllabus and calendar, and to edit the style that determines how the information will appear on screen. EventID: 4782 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 20 Type: 1 Heading: Column 2: Student Views Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: The student views let the instructor see how the course will appear to the student. At any time during course creation, the instructor can inspect one of the student views to see the course through the eyes of a student. If the instructor is teaching more than one Serf course, the Switch Courses option enables the instructor to switch courses. The control panel options always apply to the current course, which is identified in the line immediately above the control panel, where Serf says what course the instructor is working on. EventID: 4783 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 21 Type: 1 Heading: Column 3: Administrative Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Column 3 of the control panel provides the instructor with administrative options. These include the gradebook, with which the instructor inspects the student's work and assigns grades, and the roster, to which the instructor can add or drop students. The export option lets you make local copies of course components, grades, and student records. The upload feature lets you transfer to the Serf Web site computer files containing text, graphics, audio, and video for use in your courses. EventID: 4784 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 22 Type: 1 Heading: Column 4: Personal Calendar Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Every Serf user has a personal calendar that you can use to keep track of important dates and reminders. The Personal Calendar options enable you to see daily, weekly, or monthly views of your personal calendar, and add events, change, or delete events from the calendar. Please note that your personal calendar is different from the syllabus calendar in column 1. Personal dates do not appear on the syllabus calendar; neither do syllabus dates appear on your personal calendar. EventID: 4785 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 23 Type: 1 Heading: Column 5: System Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Every Serf user gets the system options displayed in column 5. These options enable you to log on and off and change your password. You can register your e-mail address and send e-mail to any member of the class. The Discussion Forums let you create online discussions and control which members of your class can access them. You can also set up your CD-ROM drive for use as a multimedia resource in support of a course. This CD-ROM feature, which is described fully in the CD-ROM section of the Serf Instructor Guide, is optional; you do not need to use CD-ROM in order to create and deliver courses with Serf. EventID: 4786 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 24 Type: 1 Heading: Serf Objects Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In Serf, a course consists of the combination of a syllabus with a calendar, a roster, and a style. The syllabus, calendar, roster, and style are objects, which Serf combines to create courses. The syllabus object contains the instructional events that will be presented in the course. The calendar object determines when these events will occur. The roster object lists the students who can log on to the course, and the style object determines how the course will appear on screen. Because Serf creates courses by combining objects, Serf is an object-oriented authoring environment.

Object orientation provides you with more flexibility than you would have if you put everything into the same structure. Keeping the dates in calendar objects instead of typing them into the syllabus enables you to use the same syllabus to teach courses that begin and end at different times. Instead of having to retype your syllabus at the beginning of the next academic term, you can simply attach a different calendar object, and all of the events on the syllabus will inherit dates from the new calendar. If this sounds complicated, just read on, and you'll soon see how easy it is to create object-oriented courses with Serf. EventID: 4787 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 25 Type: 2 Heading: Creating a Calendar Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4788 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 26 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In a Serf course, the calendar is the object that determines the dates on which the different classes will be scheduled. In this module, you'll learn what kinds of events can go onto a calendar. Then you'll insert a few class dates and a holiday onto your course calendar. EventID: 4789 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 27 Type: 1 Heading: Calendar Events Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: There are five kinds of events that you can insert into a Serf calendar: a class, a holiday, a reminder, a vacation, or an announcement. EventID: 4790 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 28 Type: 1 Heading: Inserting Class Dates Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: You should insert a few dates onto your course calendar now. Follow these steps to insert a class date onto your calendar:

EventID: 4791 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 29 Type: 1 Heading: Inserting a Holiday Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: After you've put a few class dates onto your course calendar, you should practice insering a holiday. Follow these steps: EventID: 4792 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 30 Type: 2 Heading: Creating a Syllabus Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4793 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 31 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In a Serf course, the syllabus is an ordered list of the instructional events that will occur in a course. In this module, you will learn what kinds of events can go on a syllabus. Then you will create your first class and put some content into it. EventID: 4794 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 32 Type: 1 Heading: Syllabus Events Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Here is a list of the different kinds of events you can put on a Serf syllabus: EventID: 4795 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 33 Type: 1 Heading: Creating a New Class Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: To get some experience creating an event on your syllabus, let's first create a new class. As indicated in the list above, you create a new class by inserting a class title onto your syllabus. Follow these steps: EventID: 4796 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 34 Type: 1 Heading: Adding Content to a Class Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: To put some instructional content into the class, follow these steps:

Repeat these steps if you want to add more content to the class. Add two more textual content items to get practice doing this. EventID: 4797 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 35 Type: 1 Heading: Create Another Class Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: See if you can create another class on your syllabus without looking at any instructions. If you need help, however, scroll up and review the instructions for Creating a New Class.

Note: Whenever you have trouble finding something on your Serf syllabus, you can scroll down and click the Detailed Index option, which brings up a complete point-and-click outline of the course that lets you jump to any item in any class. EventID: 4798 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 36 Type: 1 Heading: Create More Content Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Without looking at any instructions, see if you can insert some textual content into the new class you created in the previous step. If you need help, however, scroll up and review the instructions for adding content to a class. EventID: 4799 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 37 Type: 1 Heading: View the Syllabus Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Scroll down to the control panel at the bottom of your instructor screen, and in the Syllabus column, choose the option to View the syllabus. Notice how the class titles inherit dates from your course calendar.

Note: If you put more or less classes on your syllabus than you did class dates on your calendar, you'll get a message from the Serf authoring coach, warning you about the mismatch. Your course will still run, however, and your students will not see these warning messages. The warnings are just meant to alert you to the fact that there is an inconsistency between your syllabus and your calendar. EventID: 4800 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 38 Type: 2 Heading: Preambles and Generic Clusters Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4801 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 39 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In addition to containing classes, syllabi can also contain introductory material and generic information that is not part of a formal class. Follow the instructions below to learn how to create clusters of information that are not part of a formal class. EventID: 4802 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 40 Type: 1 Heading: Create a Preamble Title Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: The preamble is the part of a Serf syllabus that gets presented if the student logs on prior to the scheduled beginning of a course. To create a preamble, follow these steps:

EventID: 4803 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 41 Type: 1 Heading: Add Content to the Preamble Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: To add content to the preamble, you follow the same steps that were provided above for inserting textual content into a class. Try to add some content to the preamble without looking at the instructions, but if you need help, follow these steps: EventID: 4804 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 42 Type: 1 Heading: Generic Content Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: You may have noticed that one of the options on the Insert Syllabus Event form lets you create a generic cluster on the syllabus. The generic cluster holds generic information that can appear anywhere on a syllabus and does not count as part of a class. Its purpose is to provide information to the student outside the context of a class. You typically put generic clusters after the preamble content, and before the first class, to hold generic information such as grading policies, textbook ordering information, course descriptions, and logistical matters related to the course. EventID: 4805 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 43 Type: 1 Heading: Detailed Index Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Scroll down to the control panel at the bottom of your instructor screen, and click the Detailed Index option in the Syllabus section of the control panel. You can edit any item on your syllabus by selecting it from this detailed index. Select an item to see how this works. EventID: 4806 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 44 Type: 2 Heading: Creating a Student Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4807 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 45 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Unless your Serf system administrator has turned off your capability to create students, you have the power to create students and add them to your course roster. In this module, you will create a student, add the student to your course roster, and log on as that student to see what your course looks like through the eyes of a student. EventID: 4808 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 46 Type: 1 Heading: Create a Student Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In the Administrative section of the Instructor control panel, choose the option to add a student to the roster. The on-screen instructions are self-prompting and will tell you what to do. Important: In the ticket field, in which you assign the new student a ticket, please be careful to observe your Serf server's conventions for creating tickets. If your server uses social security numbers for tickets, for example, please do not make up false social security numbers as tickets. Instead, you can use e-mail addresses as tickets, or you can make up alphanumeric names or nicknames, but please, do not fake social security numbers. EventID: 4809 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 47 Type: 1 Heading: View the Roster Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In the Administrative section of the Instructor control panel, choose the option to view the roster, and see how the student you added in the previous step now appears on the roster. EventID: 4810 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 48 Type: 1 Heading: Becoming a Student Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Click the Log Out button to log out. Now you will log on as if you were the student you added to the roster in the previous step. Assuming the student has not yet chosen a Serf name and password, you must first click the Ticket button to cash in the new student's ticket. The instructions are self-prompting. Upon enrolling in a Serf course, students receive a Serf Student Jumpstart Pamphlet explaining how to cash in their tickets and begin your course. Detailed instructions for editing and printing a customized version of the Serf Student Jumpstart Pamphlet for your course are contained in the Serf Student Jumpstart section of the Serf User Guide. Your Serf system administrator can give you the word processor file of the Serf User Guide from which you can produce a customized version for your courses. EventID: 4811 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 49 Type: 1 Heading: Log On as Your Student Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Log on as the student for whom you chose a Serf name and password in the previous step. If your course hasn't started yet, notice how Serf displays the course preamble. EventID: 4812 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 50 Type: 1 Heading: Navigate as Your Student Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Click the Next and Back buttons to see how the student can page through your syllabus. Click the View Complete option to display the complete syllabus. Then click the Detailed Index option to see how the student can jump to any item on your syllabus. EventID: 4813 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 51 Type: 1 Heading: Become an Instructor Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Log out, then log back on as an instructor. EventID: 4814 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 52 Type: 2 Heading: Creating Assignments Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4815 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 53 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In this module, you will learn about the four kinds of assignments that an instructor can insert on a syllabus, and you will practice creating assignments. EventID: 4816 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 54 Type: 1 Heading: Types of Assignments Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: The four kinds of assignments are: EventID: 4817 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 55 Type: 1 Heading: Observational Assignment Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Now you should add an observational assignment to one of your classes. To do so, follow these steps: EventID: 4818 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 56 Type: 1 Heading: Web Query Assignment Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: As you learned earlier, the Web Query assignment lets you ask an open-ended question, which students will be required to answer as part of the course. You should add a Web query assignment to one of your classes now. Follow these steps: EventID: 4819 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 57 Type: 1 Heading: Becoming a Student Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Now let's find out how students will view and complete the assignments on your syllabus. Follow these steps: EventID: 4820 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 58 Type: 2 Heading: Using the Gradebook Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4821 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 59 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In this module, you'll learn how to use the Serf gradebook to grade assignments and inspect student grades. EventID: 4822 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 60 Type: 1 Heading: Inspecting the Gradebook Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: To see your gradebook, follow these steps: EventID: 4823 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 61 Type: 1 Heading: Grade Me Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Notice how the more-detailed grading form has a Grade Me button next to the name of the student who submitted an assignment that's waiting for you to grade it. Click the Grade Me option to display the individual grades of the student who submitted an assignment. EventID: 4824 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 62 Type: 1 Heading: Grading an Assignment Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Click the Grade Me option to grade the individual assignment. In addition to assigning a grade, use the on-screen text area to leave the student a comment about the assignment. EventID: 4825 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 63 Type: 1 Heading: Class Grades Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Click the Class Grades option to review the results of grading the assignment. Notice how Serf computes the student's average score in your course. EventID: 4826 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 64 Type: 1 Heading: QuickGrades Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Use the Quick Grades option to grade the observational assignment. The QuickGrades option is intended primarily for use at the end of a course when you want to give grades quickly to students who may not have handed in all of their assignments. To use QuickGrades, you pull down the QuickGrades menu, and select the assignment for which you want to give quick grades. Serf will list all of the students in your course, and alongside each student's name, you'll get grade controls that let you assign letter grades or percentages quickly. As the on-screen instructions will tell you, after you assign the quick grades, you must click the Submit button to record the grades. EventID: 4827 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 65 Type: 1 Heading: How the Student Sees the Grade Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: To see how the student gets the grades you just assigned, follow these steps: EventID: 4828 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 66 Type: 2 Heading: Exporting Grades Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4829 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 67 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Serf enables the instructor to export grades, which can be formatted in such a way as to be compatible with your institution's student information system, thereby permitting you to submit grades electronically without needing to retype them or write them by hand on grading forms. This module teaches you how to export grades from Serf. EventID: 4830 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 68 Type: 1 Heading: Export Options Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In the Administrative section of the Instructor panel, choose the Export option; when Serf displays the menu of items that you can export, choose the option to export final grades. EventID: 4831 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 69 Type: 1 Heading: Export Grades Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: When the Export Grades form appears, leave the default settings alone, and click the Export button. The default settings are preset to output grades in the SIS format used at the University of Delaware. The Serf system administrator at your institution can change these defaults to match the format of the student information system at your school. EventID: 4832 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 70 Type: 1 Heading: Receiving the Grades File Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Serf will export the grades into a plain text file that you can save anywhere on your computer. Click the option to save the file, and save the grades in your computer's temp directory. In the filename field of the Save dialog, type: "c:\temp\grades.txt" including the quote signs, then click the option to save the file. EventID: 4833 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 71 Type: 1 Heading: Inspecting the Grades File Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Inspect the grades.txt file with any text editor, such as the Windows notepad. To get the notepad running, click your computer's Start button, choose Run, type Notepad, and press Enter. When you open the grades.txt file, you will notice how the grades are formatted according to the SIS format. As noted earlier, the Serf system administrator can change the default format in which grades get exported to match any other student information system's data format. EventID: 4834 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 72 Type: 1 Heading: Archives Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In addition to exporting grades, it's also possible to archive a more-detailed report of your students' records in Serf. To create an archive of your course, follow these steps: EventID: 4835 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 73 Type: 2 Heading: Editing the Style Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4836 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 74 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: The style of a Serf course determines the look and feel of the course. By editing the style of your course, you can change how it appears on screen. You can put your own custom icons on screen and make them launch your own links when the student clicks them. In addition to changing the appearance of the screen, you can also change the names of things, such as grades, and you can change the ranges of the grades. In this module, you will learn how to edit the style of your course. EventID: 4837 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 75 Type: 1 Heading: Edit Style Option Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In the Syllabus section of the Instructor control panel, click the Edit Style option to make the Edit Style screen appear. Scroll down to peruse dozens of options you can customize to give Serf a unique look and feel for your course. You can even change the names of the grades and how much they count. EventID: 4838 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 76 Type: 1 Heading: Changing the Banner Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Every instructor will want to have a unique course banner for their course. The ideal size for a course banner is 600 by 70 pixels, although banners higher than 70 pixels may be used. To change the course banner, follow these steps: EventID: 4839 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 77 Type: 1 Heading: Setting Up a Chatroom Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: Serf has special support for the ParaChat network, which provides real-time communication options for students in Serf courses. To get a ParaChat chatroom for use in your course, follow these steps: EventID: 4840 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 78 Type: 1 Heading: Linking to a Listserv Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: To link a Serf menubar icon to a listserv, follow these steps: EventID: 4841 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 79 Type: 2 Heading: The Serf Testing System Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 0 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: EventID: 4842 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 80 Type: 1 Heading: Goal Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: The Serf Testing System enables you to create and administer exams over the Web. When students complete an exam, Serf grades it automatically and enters the grade in your gradebook. The Serf Testing System is object-based. The objects consist of exams, question pools, and test items, which can be true/false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, image map, short answer, or slider (i.e., Likert scale). The object-based nature of the Serf Testing System gives you a lot of flexibility in when and how you can ask test questions. Each test question can reside in one or more pools, which can be used in one or more exams, with different settings controlling how the questions get asked and scored. You can even ask a test question directly on the syllabus, without putting the question into an exam. Because putting items directly onto the syllabus is the quickest way to get started asking objective test questions, this tutorial will start you there. Then, after you learn how to create individual test items, you'll find out how to create exams and ask questions as part of an exam. EventID: 4843 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 81 Type: 1 Heading: Inserting Test Questions on the Syllabus Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: To insert a test question directly onto the syllabus, you use the syllabus editor to insert the kind of question you want to ask. After you select one of the question types (true/false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, image map, short answer, or slider), the Test Question Editor will appear, enabling you to create the question. Follow these steps: EventID: 4844 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 82 Type: 1 Heading: True/False Questions Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: When you choose to insert a true/false question directly onto the syllabus, Serf displays the Insert a True/False Question form. This form prompts you to do the following: EventID: 4845 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 83 Type: 1 Heading: Editing a Test Question Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: When you begin to edit a brand new true/false question, the question editor will appear. The big box at the top of the screen gives you the opportunity to change the parameters you entered when you inserted the true/false question onto the syllabus. The next box gives you the option to Insert, Edit, Move, or Delete elements of the question. Since a brand new question doesn't contain any elements yet, there is only one box there so far. The Preview box shows what your question looks like so far. Since you haven't entered any elements yet, the Preview box only gives the type and title of the question. EventID: 4846 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 84 Type: 1 Heading: True/False Question Elements Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: In Serf, questions consist of elements. You create a question by inserting elements into it. True/false questions consist of five kinds of elements: text, image, icon, answer prompt, and feedbacks. Each element can be inserted anywhere inside the question. This enables you to create any conceivable design or layout in your true/false question. To insert an element into a true/false question, follow these steps:

Click here to see a completed true/false question. Notice how the elements that have been inserted include a text block, an answer prompt, and feedbacks that the student will receive depending on whether the student answers true or false. If you do not provide your own custom feedbacks, Serf will display default feedbacks, which simply inform the student whether the answer is right or wrong. EventID: 4847 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 85 Type: 1 Heading: Multiple Choice Questions Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: The process for creating multiple choice questions is very similar to the true/false questions you just learned how to create. To create a multiple choice question, follow these steps:

When you click Insert to create a multiple choice question element, you'll get the following menu of elements:

  1. Text Block (starts a new paragraph)
  2. Image (centered on screen)
  3. Left Icon (left of the next text block)
  4. Right Icon (right of the next text block)
  5. Correct Answer (and its feedback)
  6. Distractor (and its feedback)
  7. Answer Button
Most of these elements are the same as for True/False questions, and they work the same way. What's special about the multiple choice question are the elements entitled "Correct answer (and its feedback)" and "Distractor (and its feedback)." Unlike other testing systems, which limit the number of choices you can have, Serf lets you create as many correct answers and distractors as you like.

Click here to see a completed multiple choice question. Notice how it has one correct answer, and three distractors. The preview window shows how these choices get displayed when the question appears on the student's screen. EventID: 4848 SyllabusID: 50 Position: 86 Type: 1 Heading: Fill-In-The-Blank Questions Tracking: 0 Weight: 0 Deadline: 0 Columns: 1 Formatting: 3 Gallery: 0 Text: To create a fill-in-the-blank question, follow these steps: